Gideon Goes From The Winepress To The Battlefield. Judges 7:9-14 Part 7

Let’s read Judges 7:9-14, “That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

Our text begins with the words, “That same night…”. Like a conjunction these words connect the text to what has happened and also to what will now take place. Therefore, let’s begin by looking back at a couple of things that have happened. Israel’s enemies had crossed the Jordan River and set up camp in the Valley of Jezreel. As a result of this Gideon was ‘clothed with the Spirit’ and he sent messengers to four tribes to come together to fight their enemies. (6:33-34)

As a result of these things war with the Midianites was inevitable. As you might imagine Gideon wanted some assurance that the LORD would save Israel by his hand. (6:14-18) Therefore, Gideon asks the LORD for two signs in 6:36-40.

In verse 36 Gideon says, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece on the threshing floor.” Interestingly, this is the first time that the word ‘threshing floor’ has been used even though Gideon was threshing wheat when we were first introduced to him. (6:11) The word ‘threshing floor’ is used not so much as a description of a particular place but as a description of the work that was going on there. This is not an uncommon practice in the scriptures. (Jer. 51:33; Micah 4:12; Lk. 3:17)

I mention this detail because this detail reminds us that over the last seven years Gideon had become accustomed to doing this chore in the winepress and that has become the new normal. The ‘winepress’ had become the ‘threshing floor’ for the first time in Israel’s history. Up until now the ‘threshing floor’ and the ‘winepress’ served two different purposes. (Num. 18:27,30; Dt. 15:14, Dt. 16:13) Because of Israel’s sin and God’s judgment it was not safe to thresh the wheat on the threshing floor. The threshing floors would soon be used by the Midianites to thresh Israel’s wheat!

After these things we now come to Judges 7:1 and read these words, “Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod.” Here we see a description of what begins to happen on that particular day that is referred to in Judges 7:9 with the words, “That same night…”.

As we read Judges 7:2-8 we see that this had been a very busy day for Gideon. Early that morning Gideon and his army were together and they ‘rose early’, traveled to the ‘Spring of Harod’, and when there they set up camp near where the battle would take place. (Judges 7:2)

How far did they travel that day? We are not told. We are told, however, that they ‘arose early’ that morning. Perhaps this was because it would be a long journey and they could begin in the cool of the day. (Gn, 22:3, 28:18-9:1) If they had gathered initially at Gideon’s home in Orphah, where the preceding verses took place (6:36-40), they would have to travel 16-18 miles that day.

We may not know all these details but we know a lot of the details about the day which are recorded in Judges 7:3-8. After they arrived at the spring of Harod and set up camp the LORD speaks to Gideon saying, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest they boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” As a result, that day was spent watching the LORD shrink the size of this army from 32,000 men to only 300 men. (7:1-8)

A day like this would have been exhausting in several ways.

• Physically, because they had set out early, set up camp, and then spent the day addressing a problem that the LORD had revealed. (7:1-2)

• Relationally, Gideon watched as 22,000 people left out of fear. Gideon may have felt abandoned by them or disappointed in himself that they did this.

• Emotionally, because Gideon had experienced the high of being clothed with the Spirit and seeing the super-natural results of this army that had gathered, but then he watched it shrink down to 300 people. (6:34-7:8)

• Spiritually, Gideon had his faith encouraged by the two signs that the LORD had done for him, (6:37-40), but now he was becoming fearful. (7:12)

Perhaps, as the evening approached Gideon couldn’t wait to lay his head down on his pillow. For a night he could forget the troubles, concerns, and fears. Maybe after getting some rest Gideon would feel better. God, however, had other plans for Gideon. The LORD comes to Gideon that night, saying, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.” God does not intend to allow Gideon and his 300 men to spend any time sitting around. That would only increase their fears and hinder their faith. (Dt. 20:8; 2 Thess. 3:11)

Those words that are spoken to Gideon in v.9 are similar to the words that had been spoken to Israel in Judges 1:2, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” On that occasion Judah lacked the faith to obey even though they were the largest of the tribes and even though their parents had success over the Canaanites by the hand of Joshua.

We might ask then, “If Israel failed to obey this command at that time under those conditions, what are the chances that Gideon would obey and be successful on this occasion?” Gideon’s army is so small. And Gideon could hardly imagine a time when God had done amazing things for them. (6:13)

As Gideon lay there that night the LORD came to him and said, “Arise”. Notice that the LORD does not speak to Gideon as He spoke to Peter in Acts 12:6-7. The angel came to Peter in prison at night and we are told that he was ‘sleeping’. We are told that the angel ‘woke him’ and said, “Arise, get up quickly…”. In our text the LORD does not do these things. He simply says, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.” (9)

Furthermore, in Acts 12 the angel of the LORD tells Peter to dress himself, to put on his sandals, and to wrap himself in his cloak. But in our text Gideon was not given any such instructions. It is as if he were already dressed and ready for the battle. The LORD simply has to say, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.” (Ex. 12:11) Gideon appears to have been ready, but there was one problem- he was afraid.

Question: Could it be that Gideon was not sleeping but he was praying and calling out to the LORD as he did in Judges 6:36 when he asked the LORD for two signs? If he was praying he would have been doing the very thing that Israel did not do in Judges 1:1-3 when they lacked the faith but they stopped praying.

Perhaps Gideon was awake and asking the LORD to strengthen His faith and to provide the grace that he needed. Gideon did not feel qualified for this calling; he needed grace. (6:15; 1 Cor. 1:26-31)

• Perhaps Gideon’s prayer that night would have sounded like the prayer in Psalm 77:1-2, “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.”

• Perhaps Gideon prayed like Paul that the LORD would remove his thorn in the flesh three times. (2 Cor. 12)

• Perhaps Gideon, who points us to Jesus, may have been praying as Jesus did, saying, “Lord, let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Perhaps Gideon’s prayer sounded like Psalm 22 (a Messianic Psalm), “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” (1-2) “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’” (7-8) “Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” (11-15) “But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!” (19)

Having mentioned these things let us read Judges 7:9-10, “That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.’”

Let me make two comments. First, it could be that the LORD wakes Gideon up and acts proactive in verse 10 when he offers Gideon a means of grace to help him overcome His fears. Maybe Gideon was asleep and the LORD knows he is frightened. If this is the case, we can see that the LORD is so merciful, gracious, kind to help us in our weaknesses. He knows what we need before we ask. (Matthew 6:8) In Judges 6:36-40 Gideon asks for signs and God does it, but here God could be sovereignly giving Gideon a sign to help him overcome His fears and weak faith.

This would show us that the LORD does not want mere obedience apart from faith. No, He wants faith that produces obedience. (Hebrews 3&4) Anything done apart from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) Therefore, faith is so necessary to the life of a believer that God will sovereignly provide it, support it, strengthen it, and preserve it in His people.

There are times in the Christian life when it feels like we simply do what is right according to the Word of God by our own determination. In fact, this is unfortunately what most Christians do. (Judges 7:2; 1 Cor. 4:7; Rom. 3:27-28) Many believe this even when it comes to the moment they were saved. They believe they decided to believe apart from God’s sovereign decisive act of regeneration. (Ephesians 1-2:10) Salvation is a sovereign work of God and faith is a gift. And from that moment on faith is central to everything a believer does. (Romans 1:5&17, 10:17; Ephesians 2:8-10) Therefore, we ought to often pray, “Lord, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-25) {Amazing Grace: Twas Grace That Taught My Heart To Fear, And Grace My Fears Relieved}

Second, whether Gideon was praying for faith that night, or whether the LORD offers this sign graciously and mercifully to him, (7:10-11) Gideon still has to humble himself and respond in faithful obedience. In pride he could have said, “I don’t/shouldn’t need this means of grace; therefore, I will not go and avail myself of it.”

How many times do we forfeit the strengthening of our faith because we will not avail ourselves of the means of grace that God provides to us? (Word, Fellowship, Prayer, Communion, Baptism, Watchfulness, Fasting, etc.)

Like us, Gideon could have come up with reasons why he would not take this journey to the means of grace. But Gideon accepted the LORD’s offer and made this journey. Consider Judges 7:11-12, “Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.”

Notice the LORD had another man go with him, Purah, his armor bearer. Perhaps God is showing us the importance of other believers in our faith walk. [Matthew 6:7-13; Hebrews 2:12-13]) Perhaps God is also reminding us that Gideon’s testimony needs to have a witness. Deut. 19:15 says that a ‘fact must be established by two or more witnesses’.

Notice also that in the process of getting his faith strengthened and his fears removed the opposite initially happened. Gideon would have to leave the camp and go down to the Midianite camp where he would see with his own eyes the very things that would provoke his fleshly fears. This is a reminder of how a faithful believer must walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) This is the reason verse 12 is in our text, “Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.”

• Gideon would have to leave the safety of his camp and see the outposts and armed men.

• He would have to see the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the east who filled the valley. They were like locusts in abundance and their camels could not be counted.

This trip was supposed to help Gideon’s faith but after seeing these things his faith would be under attack and his fear would be increasing. Isn’t this a small picture of what was happening in this larger story. Our faith is tested through trials but in the end it is made perfect, complete, and lacking nothing. James 1:2-4.

Both Gideon and Purah probably had to encourage each other on this trip so that they were not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12-14- “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”)

Undeterred by these things, Gideon continued to descend into the valley until they reach the front lines. But how are they to know they would come to the right place to hear the words that will encourage their faith? This seems like an impossible thing to achieve. Yet, God is sovereign and they end up in the one place where God has given a Midianite a dream and another man the interpretation. Gideon and Purah are not lucky, no God has guided their steps to the exact spot where they can hear the words that will strengthen, increase, and encourage their faith. (Psalm 77:19-20)

Verses 13-15 say, “When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, ‘Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.’ And his comrade answered, ‘This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.’ As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, ‘Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.’”

When Gideon hears these words he has two responses. First he worships the LORD. Secondly, Gideon returns to the camp and arouses his army of 300 men to prepare for battle, saying, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” Since Judges 6:10 we have been seeing a picture of how God is transforming Gideon into a mighty man of valor. (6:12)